New Restaurant: Giovanni's Brooklyn Eats

It’s all about family at Giovanni’s Brooklyn Eats.

Black and white photographs of the owner’s grandparents and relatives line the walls, his grandfather’s 80-year-old wine press from the mother country sits near the private dining room in the basement and if you ask, he will let you try his homemade wine, made from an old-world family recipe.

“I wanted to connect everything to my family,” said Giovanni Tafuri, the owner. The private dining room in the basement, which is accessed through the kitchen, is modeled after his grandfather’s wine cellar. It is in the coldest part of the building and the walls are the original stone.

The Southern Italian menu is composed of recipes from his mother’s side from Calabria and his father’s from Naples. The “Nonna’s Famous Meatballs” are his grandmother’s Calabria recipe ($8.95) and the veal salti in bocca is based off a recipe from his father’s side ($12.95).

“The food connects you to my family and what I am about,” Tafuri said.

They also have baked clams, veal, chicken and eggplant Parmesan dishes and homemade tagliattelle (pasta). Soon they will have wild game like rabbit, pheasant, venison and wild boar.

The most expensive item on the menu is $12.95, which is cheap for Park Slope and that is on purpose.

“I created a place where I wanted to bring people back to simple and inexpensive food,” said Tafuri. “Here, it is all about family.”

He gets all of his food from local staples. His mozzarella is from Aiello Dairy on Hicks Street, his bread is from Sal and Jerry’s in Bensonhurst and the cannoli is from a bakery on Court Street.

“Here, we are all about Brooklyn,” he said. 

The décor is homey, but classy. The floors are Spanish tile that is made to look like wood, Venetian plaster is on the walls, which gives the atmosphere a nice rustic look and is accentuated by the wooden ceiling. There is a small marble bar with four stools, 30 seats in the dining room and 25 more seats in the private dining room, which he calls the “wine cellar.” 

In just its second week of business, Tafuri is always there.

“I am here hands-on. I am the host, waiter, the manager, owner and I even wash dishes from time to time,” he said. “This is an old traditional neighborhood bistro. I want people to say, ‘Let’s go to Giovanni’s down the block.’”

Probably the most unique aspect of the new eatery is the homemade Italian wine, which comes from a long-time recipe made from the Alicante grape and a Grenache combination. His grandfather found the grape, which is from California, when he came to America. The wine has a similar taste to the grapes his grandfather used in Italy, with a rich, full-bodied taste.

Tafuri owned Sette, which was on Seventh Avenue and Third Street, which closed almost two months ago after nine years. He said the rent got too expensive for him to “stay true to his customers.” 

The move, although only one avenue, took him to a different part of Park Slope he was used to.

“This neighborhood holds true to its roots. Most of our neighbors have been here for over 40 years, unlike the new families moving to Seventh Avenue,” he said. “They own their neighborhood, it’s an old school Brooklyn feeling. When we first moved in we were questioned: ‘Who are you!?’”